Energy-Generating Solar Installations

Polysilicon is a hyperpure material that has been purified by the distillation of trichlorosilane and is then deposited in the form of rods and crushed into chunks for further processing. Our customers use the polysilicon to make crystalline solar wafers, which are the basis of solar modules, for example on residential roofs.

6,000t of CO2 are eliminated by every metric ton of poly­silicon used in solar modules.

Annual Report 2012

Group Structure and Operations

WACKER is a globally active company with state-of-the-art specialty chemical products. Our portfolio includes over 3,200 products supplied to more than 3,500 customers in over 100 countries. WACKER products are found in countless everyday items, ranging from cosmetic powders to solar cells.

Silicon Is Our Main Starting Material

Most of our products are based on inorganic starting materials. Silicon-based products account for 80 percent of WACKER sales, and products that are primarily ethylene-related for 20 percent. Our customers come from virtually every major sector, ranging from consumer goods, food, pharmaceuticals, textiles and the solar, electrical/electronics and basic-chemical industries, to medical technology, biotech and mechanical engineering. As a manufacturer of silicones and polymers, WACKER is particularly well represented in the automotive and construction sectors. We are also a key supplier of silicon wafers to the semiconductor industry. In recent years, we have greatly expanded our polycrystalline-silicon business for the solar industry, where WACKER is one of the world’s largest manufacturers.

Technical Competence Centers Serve as the Basis of Sales & Marketing

WACKER operates all over the world. Our sales strategy is centered around expanding our presence in growth markets. Our sales organization is supplemented by a network of technical competence centers, where customers learn about WACKER’s product portfolio, and by the WACKER ACADEMY, where we offer technical training sessions on our products and their application fields. In 2012, we opened a new technical competence center in Mexico City – primarily for polymer-binder applications. At the same time, we set up a new branch of the WACKER ACADEMY there. We expanded our existing technical competence centers in São Paulo (Brazil), Singapore, Seoul (South Korea) and Dubai (UAE). Last year, Siltronic opened a new sales office and a technical competence center in Seoul. In total, WACKER has 53 sales offices in 29 countries.

Production Site in Hikari Shut Down

Following the complete shutdown of our production site in Hikari (Japan), WACKER’s global production network comprises 24 sites (in 2011: 25). Of these, eight are in Europe, seven in the Americas and nine in Asia. The Group’s key production site is Burghausen (Germany), with 9,249 employees. In 2012, Burghausen’s manufacturing output reached around 680,000 metric tons. That is over 50 percent of groupwide production output. At Nünchritz (Saxony), our first polysilicon production facility outside Burghausen entered full operation in April 2012, with a nominal capacity of 15,000 metric tons per year. Alongside Burghausen, Nünchritz is WACKER’s second multidivisional site.